My name is Anne Eloi, and I participated in the Bioscience Breakthroughs in Germany program. During my study abroad experience in Berlin, one of the things that touched me the most was Germany’s culture of remembrance. Before the trip, I knew Berlin had a lot of history, but being there helped me understand that remembrance…
Category: Frederick
Melina is London Bound!
Hello, my name is Melina Mazzella, and I am a rising junior. I am majoring in Public Health and minoring in Chemistry on a pre-medical track. Outside of my academics, I am the incoming Director of Lifetime Membership for the Tri Delta sorority, volunteer weekly at the Pitt Vaccination and Health Connections Hub, and am…
Getting around Munchen!
Something that was quite new to me personally was the accessibility to public infrastructure. The idea of having so many different routes available to get to places was a complete culture shock. Because I study at a branch campus, I am not too sure what the infrastructure is like in Oakland, but I can’t imagine it…
Isabella Hribal in Munchen!
Hello friends! My name is Isabella Hribal and I am participating in University of Pittsburgh’s German Culture and Language study abroad program in Munchen, Germany. I just finished out my sophomore year at University of Pittsburgh-Greensburg, dual majoring in Early and Special Education with a certificate in West European Studies. I had a great opportunity…
Post-Trip: Potsdam, Cologne, Brussels, Antwerpen, & Luxembourg
As my internship at Vencon Research draws to a close, I find myself reflecting on a journey that went far beyond the work itself. This experience has been a profound blend of professional growth, cultural immersion, and personal discovery—all set against the backdrop of an incredible city and an even more incredible continent. The last…
Week 8: Budapest, Timisoara, & Bratislava
This week at Vencon, I continued refining our Prospective Client Scoring Model while balancing smaller research requests from the senior team. The work has shifted from heavy research to fine-tuning: making sure the framework captures the right criteria, reflects market realities, and is easy to use across teams. Presenting these refinements means I’ve had to…
Week 7: Copenhagen
This week, the journey completely overshadowed the destination. Right after work on Friday, I headed to the train station, excited to meet my roommate in Copenhagen. She’d already arrived earlier that afternoon. I, on the other hand, took the scenic route—two canceled trains and four transfers later, I finally arrived around 3:30 a.m. The ride…
Week 6: Prague, Sächsische Schweiz, Dresden, & Hamburg
This week didn’t start in Berlin but in Prague, where I reunited with my parents, fresh off their flight from the U.S. I arrived by train at 3 AM—exhausted but alert—knowing they would be nervous navigating a new country. The station was quiet, the streets nearly empty, and I found myself slipping into the role…
Week 5: Warsaw, Gdańsk, Sopot, Gdynia, & Szczecin
I wrapped up another week at Vencon presenting my mid-point progress on the Prospective Client Scoring Model. My fellow intern and I have been pouring everything we have into making the model as precise and useful as possible, driven by that mix of excitement and pressure to deliver something meaningful to the team. It’s been…
Week 4: Amsterdam, The Hague, & Rotterdam
After wrapping up a two-day project at Vencon, I took a solo weekend trip to Amsterdam. As soon as I clocked out on Friday, I boarded an overnight ICE train and arrived around 10 a.m. The city immediately captivated me, so effortlessly beautiful. Narrow houses with intricate architecture lined the canals, each bridge adorned with…